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With the 2026 NBA Las Vegas Summer League officially in the books, most of the Association’s offseason business is settled. Sure, we are still waiting on certain free agents (LeBron James, anyone?). Mostly, though, the attention has shifted to what next year holds. And with summer league fresh on everyone’s minds, breakout candidates are currently top-of-mind.
So let’s go ahead and spotlight five names everyone should be keeping an eye on, shall we?
This list takes into account everything under the sun. For the most part, we considered players in line for a much bigger role and who might have even shown major strides during summer league. While the NBA’s Most Improved Player battlefield isn’t yet etched in stone, you can rest assured each of these names will be among those laying MIP odds cited by vegasbetting.com.
Narrowing down the field to only five options is incredibly difficult. Plenty of players seem as if they’re in line for a measurable jump next season. More so than anyone else, however, these are the five names we’re most closely tracking.
Pelle Larsson, Miami Heat
No one can fault the Miami Heat for mortgaging the farm to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo. It remains to be seen whether they carved out a legitimate championship window with the trade. But given their previous trajectory, giving up almost everything and everyone for a two-time MVP in his prime was a justifiable decision.
Still, the deal left Miami completely gutted in the ball-handler department. Giannis and Davion Mitchell now profile as their primary half-court playmakers. Bam Adebayo can pick up some of the slack as well, but we have seen the Heat’s offense wilt when he’s among primary options.
Enter Pelle Larsson.
The 25-year-old has shown flashes of someone who can carry a sizable on-ball workload. He has nice change-of-pace to his handles to go along with excellent positional size and physicality. As the Heat’s roster is currently constructed, he may be its best half-court ball-handler. That alone opens up a potential opportunity for him to be a prominent part of the rotation. Consistently hitting the three-ball will be the swing skill for him.
Khaman Maluach, Phoenix Suns
After looking too raw to receive regular minutes as a rookie, Khaman Maluach verged on dominant during his 2026 summer-league stint. Good thing, too. The Phoenix Suns need a high-upside swing in the frontcourt.
Trading for Miles Bridges, while a terribly shortsighted move, gives them more of a scoring punch from the 4 spot. But the center rotation is currently headlined by two players with flawed games. Oso Ighodaro is small and doesn’t provide much defensive resistance, while Mark Williams has not proven to be a reliable rim protector.
Maluach, on the other hand, looked like a rebounding and shot-blocking machine in Vegas. The offense has a long way to go, but he’s dabbled in three-point attempts, and he put down more of his looks inside the arc while playing in Sin City.
It appears Williams has the inside track on starting to begin next season. Don’t be surprised if the Suns close the year with Maluach jumping center to open games, though.
Egor Dëmin, Brooklyn Nets
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Many thought Egor Dëmin was tracking toward becoming a draft bust by the end of last season. The Brooklyn Nets took him with the eighth-overall pick in 2025, and he was mostly unspectacular during his rookie year. The three-point shot was ahead of schedule, but the secondary creation and finishing inside the arc lagged.
If Dëmin’s performance at the Las Vegas Summer League is any indication, he’s already worked on the secondary creation and finishing inside the arc.
After assisting on under 9 percent of his team’s buckets during summer league last year, Dëmin ratcheted that number up to 31.3 percent this time around. And while there are still questions about whether he can create separation inside the arc, he averaged 4.9 free-throw attempts this summer compared to 1.8 FTAs per 36 minutes last year.
Touches could be slightly harder to come by in Brooklyn with both Julius Randle and Mikel Brown Jr. in the fold. But Dëmin currently profiles as a better passer than both. It would not be surprising if he’s averaging something like 18 points and six assists per game on above-board efficiency as a sophomore.
Hugo González, Boston Celtics
Hugo González turned some heads during his rookie season thanks to his defensive versatility, physicality, rebounding and situational rim pressure. The Boston Celtics need more of everything as he enters Year 2.
Trading two-time All-NBA star Jaylen Brown has created a vacuum in the wing rotation. The arrival of Paul George isn’t going to fill it.
Sure, a healthier Jayson Tatum will go a long way. The Celtics are also clearly leaning into more three-point volume with Brown on the way out. Even so, they need a perimeter player who puts consistent pressure on the basket. Brown was that guy for them. González has to be that player now.
We should also expect to see the second-year player’s defensive workload increase without Brown. If he proves that he can switch across multiple positions while guarding stars, he could find himself a part of Boston’s crunch-time units.
Zach Edey, Memphis Grizzlies
Lower-body injuries have hampered the start to Zach Edey’s NBA career. When he’s played, though, he has bordered on dominant.
Indeed, many still worry about his lackluster foot speed and how that might impact the defensive end. But his rim protection and deterrence is through the roof when he’s guarding in the half-court. The on-off splits speak for themselves.
Aside from staying healthy, the key for him will be finding his offensive wheelhouse. Hitting the three-ball could be more important than ever with Cam Boozer slated to take a ton of touches in the offense.
Fortunately for the Grizz, Edey has shown real touch from beyond the arc. His touch and decision-making from the middle of the floor will also allow him to screen for Boozer. And in lineups that lack offensive creation, he has shown that he can be used as a post-up hub.
Truth be told, among anyone on this list, Edey may be the best Most Improved Player candidate if you assume he plays in enough games.
